Who Could Love A Beast
by Bookworm2003
Summary: As Hermione progresses to the seventh year, many changes occur, mostly for the good. But will these changes spark vibes between her and her old DADA professor, or will he extinguish them before they flame?


Hermione Granger stood outside number twelve Grimmauld Place. She had not been there in a very long time. A year, in fact, not since Sirius died. The door looked dingy as ever and she was sure that the inside would be the same. The same dank, dark, damp house. The same molded smell and row of elf heads (out of all the faults of the house, the elf heads were the worst.) She sighed and opened the door. To her surprise, the house was not damp and dark, but bright and cool. The halls were free of elf heads and the old screaming portrait of Mrs. Black was replaced by a beautiful landscape of Hogwarts.

The house, however, was not the only thing that has changed. Hermione herself has too. In the past year, she had evolved into a beautiful young woman. Her hair became sleek and curly, no longer brown, but a dark shade of honey. She had grown a few inches, so that the hem of her skirt barely fell to her knees. A year of worries made her thin and pale, but at the same time, she seem to be glowing, radiating a light of happiness.

As she descended into the kitchen, she found nothing there, except a blazing fire. _Where is everybody?_ She wondered to herself, as she set off in search of any human, wizard or muggle, inside the house. She didn't have to search very far, as she found Mrs. Weasley and Ginny in the drawing room. It looked nothing like the cluttered, doxie-infested room that she had helped clean two years ago. A large window overlooked a shady large backyard with high, white, ornate fences, and lush willow trees. A white, grand piano stood at one corner of the room and many plush couches congregated around it. Mrs. Weasley was sitting on a couch, knitting, while Ginny was ploped on a cushion on the marble floor, reading a book. Both looked up when Hermione entered.

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, as she got up and hugged the other girl.

"Hello, Ginny," Hermione replied, slightly dazed, "Hello, Mrs. Weasley."

"Hello Hermione, dear, come and have a seat. You haven't been here in so long."

"Things have changed quite a bit, hasn't it?" Hermione said, looking around the room.

"Yes it has," Mrs. Weasley said, putting down her knitting, "Come, you have to see your room. Now that Fred and George don't live here anymore and Sirius is, well, you know. You will have your own room."

Hermione didn't say anything, but followed Mrs. Weasley up to the third landing, where Fred and George used to stay. Mrs. Weasley opened the door and Hermione gasped. Her new room was nothing like anything she has ever seen before. The four poster bed was a light beige color, that matched the tall armoire, the vanity table and mirror. The hangings and curtains were both a sheer, pale blue that swayed gently as a soft breeze passed her window. She looked out her window and gasped. She saw a green meadow and a sparkling lake.

"I didn't know there was a lake out there," Hermione said, looking at Mrs. Weasley.

"There isn't, this is an enchanted window."

"Wow."

No one said anything for a few minutes, as all three looked out of the window. As she watched, Hermione saw a gray rabbit dart out from behind a bush, skitted on the grass, before darting into another bush.

"This is a mood window, what you see out of it will reflect your mood," Mrs. Weasley explained, as the rabbit darted out yet again, "you must be feeling some what happy right now. But if you were angry, you might see a raging monsoon, or if you were sad, it might be an overcast day, and so on."

"Who did this?" Hermione asked.

"Well, we really don't know," Ginny said, from behind Hermione, "We've not stayed here for a while. During the school year, Mum and Dad moved back to the Burrow and it was only Professor Lupin here. He must have had a lot of time on his hand."

"Speaking of time, I've got to start dinner, so why don't you girls sit here and chat?" Mrs. Weasley said, bustling out of Hermione's room.

"So, Hermione, what do you think?" Ginny asked, sitting on the bench at the foot of Hermione's bed.

"About what? This room?" Ginny nodded. "It's nice, I guess. I've just never imagined that this house would look quite like this."

"Me neither."

"I feel like I'm living in a Disney movie."

"A what?"

"It's a muggle thing. Just a bunch of moving pictures that have to do with princesses, castles, or animals."

"Oh. Well, I don't see animals out my window, I just see a pond and a mountain."

"This is just so amazing," Hermione sighed, "Where's Harry and Ron?"

"Diagon Alley." Ginny blushed.

"Ginny, why are you blushing?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are, your whole head is turning red."

"It's not."

"Accio Mirror," Hermione said, as the mirror flew into her outstretched hand. Ginny looked at her. "What?" Hermione asked, "I'm old enough to do magic outside school. Now look at yourself and tell me you're not blushing."

"Okay, fine, I'm blushing."

"Aren't you going to tell me why, or will I have to jinx it out of you?"

"Since when were you so vicious?" Ginny asked, shielding her head with her arm.

"Since now. Now spill."

"Fine. Me and Harry, well, we're hitting it off, I suppose."

"Oh! That's fantastic!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I know."

With a loud _Crack_, Harry and Ron appeared in Hermione's room.

"Hey, we were just talking about you," Hermione said.

"No, we weren't," Ginny said, blushing furiously again. Harry smiled at her and her whole head looked aflame. Just then, an owl flew in through the window, dropped off four letters with the Hogwarts seal on them, before taking off through the window.

"Hey, Hogwarts letters are here," Ron said, picking up his. Hermione realized that hers was rather thick, and knew almost instantly what was inside. She tore the envelope open eagerly and turned it upside down on her bed. Out came the usual letters and a head girl's badge.

"Hermione! You're head girl!" Ginny exclaimed, looking over at Hermione's Head Girl badge on her bed, just as Harry muttered,

"This can't be."

"What?" the other three asked him.

"I'm Head Boy?"

"That's wonderful," Ginny said, throwing her arms around Harry.

"But I don't understand. I wasn't even a prefect."

"You don't have to be a prefect in order to be Head Boy," Hermione explained.

"You're right. My father was Head Boy, and he wasn't a prefect."

"This is great!" Ron said, "both heads in Gryffindor. You can deduct points, you know. I can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's face when he sees this."

"Ron," Hermione said, putting her badge on her nightstand, "We are not going to deduct points from Slytherine just because Malfoy's in it."

"And because Slytherines are foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroaches."

"Ron!"

"What? They're your words exactly."

"Yes, well, I was under quite a bit of stress at that time."

"Oh, and remember fifth year? When Malfoy and most of the Slytherines were part of the 'Inquisitorial Squad', and he docked all those points from Gryffindor? It's time for payback."

"Ron, we are not stooping down to their level."

"I still think you should, what do you think, Harry, mate?" Ron asked, turning towards Harry.

"I dunno. I suppose it's a thing to consider--"

"HARRY!" Hermione cut in.

"Let me finish. But, I don't think it is the right thing to do at this time."

"Thank you."

"Whatever mate," Ron said, "All I'm saying is that if it were me, I'd show all the Slytherines a lesson.

"Dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called from downstairs.

"Mum is going to freak over this, you wait and see," Ron said darkly as they filed out of Hermione's room and down the stairs.

A/N: I've decided to redo this story completely. Give some feedback! Please?


End file.
